Effective outdoor lighting benefits us in many ways. It can be used to increase pedestrian and vehicular safety, enhance a community's night time character, advertise commercial businesses and provide security. Appropriately designed and properly installed, outdoor lighting contributes to the safety and welfare of everyone. However, inappropriate outdoor lighting applications result in glare, over lighting, light escalation, sky glow and wasted energy. In many parts of the country, the beautifully star lit dark sky cannot be seen due to uncontrolled exterior lighting that results in too much light pollution.
The sources of light pollution and light trespass typically include light projected above a horizontal plane or light reflected from illuminated surfaces such as roadways. An increasing number of towns and municipalities have been involved in the alteration of the use of exterior lighting by instituting laws and ordinances. One of the “dark sky friendly™” solutions used by these towns and municipalities involves restricting the illumination direction of exterior lights. In the context of the present patent application, the phrase “dark sky friendly” means that a light illumination is directed in such a way as to reduce light pollution or light trespass or both.
Dark sky friendly lighting devices use only “good nighttime” lighting for all applications. With good nighttime lighting, everyone wins. It helps to preserve dark skies, helps people to see better at night, has a more pleasant and comfortable nighttime environment, and potentially saves a great deal of energy and money.
Several dark sky friendly luminaries (lighting fixtures) currently exist in the marketplace. The fixtures usually contain a shield within the fixture base to allow shielding of light. These fixtures can be used with any basic light bulb. However, these fixtures are often an expensive option for consumers. In many cases, the entire existing fixtures need to be replaced to make the whole lighting system dark sky friendly.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide improved inexpensive dark sky friendly lighting without the need to replace any existing fixtures.